The three-day event celebrates years of work expanding mountain bike trails around Wilmington.

There are now some 50+ miles around town designed for novice bikers who might like to try a wider, easy trail with others designed for action off right the mountain’s edge.

The Town of Wilmington, Barkeater Trails Alliance (BETA) and Whiteface Mountain Regional Visitors Bureau collaborated to plan a series of group MTB guided tours, shuttles, youth races and bike clinics, including a women’s MTB skills course.

A townwide music festival, dancing and swimming at Lake Everest are all part of the fun.

Daily registration for events takes place at the Town of Wilmington Youth Center on Park Lane, just off of Springfield Road with a bandstand for music set up behind it.

At the Visitors Bureau, Operations Manager Michelle Preston said they are thrilled to bring the MTB Festival to the Adirondacks.

“This is going to be great,” she said. “We are excited to be giving the mountain bike community in the Adirondacks more exposure. And we look forward to this growing every year.”

Essex County Board of Supervisors Chairman and Wilmington Supervisor Randy Preston said the very tight-knit community in his town supports all the work accomplished by BETA and the state Department of Environmental Conservation in planning, designing and blazing new trails.

“Wilmington is the Mountain Bike Capital of the Adirondacks, with many options and some of the most beautiful vistas in the park,” he said. “We are a fully support the great things the MTB community is doing here.”

Some demonstration bikes will be on hand, but for the first year, organizers are encouraging people to bring their mountain bikes or rent from local bike shops.

“We anticipate that local shops will be on hand with some demo bikes, but a broad size run (variety for skill levels) may not be available,” Matt McNamara said.

“For a novice rider, I’d recommend renting a bike for the weekend from a local shop beforehand. Renting ahead of time means more time to make sure the bike is a good fit and you can get a few of the other items you may need. We will have novice rides on Friday evening, Saturday morning, and Saturday afternoon,” McNamara said of the youth events. “Any of our local shops can help a new rider get started.”

BETA is inviting everyone to come try their trails at the Hardy Road system, at the Flume or at Poor Man’s Downhill (PMD), which features shuttle service for a three-mile, single-track vertical drop of around 1,200 feet.

Gratefully Yours with opening band Lostdog will play Saturday, September 2, free and open to public with refreshments offered for sale by Big Slide Brewery & Public House.

10 a.m. to 12 p.m. - Youth MTB Clinic designed for young rippers looking to get more comfortable and faster riding their bikes off-road. “Come learn core skills that will have you riding smooth and having a blast on our local trails,” say organizers. “We’ll work on turning, braking, balance, and learn some fun tricks to navigate common obstacles. Put what you learn on Saturday into practice in our Hardy Kids Race on Sunday.” Taught by Professional Coach Patrick Carey.

2 p.m. to 4 p.m. - Women’s Only Skills for ladies looking to take their riding up a couple notches and have more fun on the trails. All levels of experience are welcome. We’ll work on fundamental skills like body position, turns, drops and navigating obstacles. Take your new skills to the trails on Sunday with some shuttle laps on our awesome Poor Man’s Downhill. Taught by Professional Coach Patrick Carey.

5 p.m. to 11 p.m. - Wilmington Festival Village, swimming at Lake Everest, live music by Lostdog and Gratefully Yours, bonfire, free and open to the public at the town park behind the Wilmington Youth Center.